National Republican., 1887-02-19
Industrial Corporation.


Industrial Cooperation.
Senator stunford's bill ito encourage co.
operation and to provide for the formation
OF associations for the purpose Of conduct.
ing any lawful business and dividing the
profits among the members thereof" de-
manGs more than a passing notice, because
of the important suggestions 1t makes as to
the cure Of all future labor troubles.
Governments, from the rudest form
found among savage tribes to the highest
and best product of mans civilization, our
own republic, are but CO operative associa-
tions, formed for the benefit Of those who
live under them, their benefits being con-
ferred more or less equally as the govern
ment passes from the despotism Of savage
chieftain to the freedom Of the American
citizen.
Church, state, society, are all the result
Of the cooperation Of individuals, as every
great work accomplished on earth is the
result of the cooperation of capital, or OF
individuals, or Of both.
Cooperation without any capital but
that which exists in the power to labor is
no longer an experiment. 1t has been
tried and found successful, and the govern
ment should offer every encouragement
possible to the system, as is done by this
bill, which authorizes charters Of most
liberal character.
No government supervision of these as
sociations is proposed by Senator stanford's
bill, but record is to be made which will
enable, not only the government to legls-
late understandingly In favor of them, but
the associations themselves to secure great
advantages through the experience of
others who are engaged in like enter
prises.
The great Rochdale Cooperative Asso.
citation of England was started in 1874 hy
twenty, eight iourneymen. most of them
flannel weavers, who subscribed two or
three pence a week, until each had paid In
81, making total capital OF f2s, when
business was commenced on this capital,
and the sales of this cooperative society
now amount to million dollars year.
There are now nearly two thousand of
these cooperative societies in Great Brit
ian with membership of nearly one mil
lion souls.
This was O "distributive" association,
but its success led 10 the establishment OF
''productiye" associations, where the labor
of the members was the only capital, and
these have proven equally successful.
Three journeymen coopers few years
since started ''eo.operative barrel asso-
citation" in Minneapolis, and now all the
barrels used in that great flour manpfac-
turing city are made by workmen thus
combined, while numerous other industries
in that city are rapidly passing into the
hands of the laborers who do the work, and
thus secure all the profits.
But all these associations labor under
one great disadvantage, and that is the
fact that they are granted the privilege o
association by law, and that the law re
quires all grants Of every kind to be strictly
construed. The fifteenth section of Sena-
tor Stanford's bill remedies this trouble by
requiring the laws to be construed ''liber-
ally" In favor Of the associations.
The workingmen Of America constitute
the government and select agents to con-
Guct it. But no government can do away
with that primal law which declared to
mankind that for all time 'In the sweat of
thy face shalt thou earn thy bread" and
this government "of the people, by the
people, for the people" Is no exception to
that rule.
But II these selected agents are wise, they
can tighten the burden which all men have
TO bear bysecuring to each man and woman
the full results OF the labor they do, and
the measure now under consideration lis
one step In the right direction.
The NATIONAL REPUBLICAN is the organ
OF the people and will devote some space
during the coming year to showing the ef.
fects of cooperation, as embodied In the
measure offered by Senator Stanford, of
California.